Christi and Bobby Shepherd who died in Corfu Credit: Press Association

The boss of Thomas Cook will today meet the family of two young children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu.

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of the travel firm, has admitted the company failed in its handling of the tragedy and pledged to help the children's parents move on with their lives.

He issued a public apology to them as the company seeks to halt a mounting reputational crisis over the way it has treated the family since the incident.

Speaking after the release of Thomas Cook's half-year results, Mr Fankhauser also vowed to apologise directly to the family of Bobby and Christi, from Horbury, near Wakefield, who died at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel on the Greek holiday island in 2006 when they were overcome by fumes from a faulty boiler.

Some customers have threatened to boycott Thomas Cook after it emerged that the firm received around £3 million compensation from the hotel chain responsible for the incident, and following criticisms from the family.

Thomas Cook said earlier this week that it would donate £1.5 million to the
charity Unicef, while the remaining £1.5 million went to its insurers for underwriting legal fees.

But the children's parents, Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood, hit out at the firm, saying they had not been consulted by Thomas Cook about the donation to Unicef.

The family have a particular children's charity they have been supporting and to which relatives and friends have been donating in Bobby and Christi's memory.

A Thomas Cook spokeswoman confirmed that the meeting would take place today but had no information on the timing or location.

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It has taken nine years but today the Chief Executive of Peterborough-based Thomas Cook finally said he was "deeply sorry" for the deaths of two British children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Corfu.

Christi and Bobby Shepherd, who were 6 and 7, died at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel on the Greek island in 2006 while on a Thomas Cook holiday. An inquest ruled last week that the company had "breached its duty of care".

Now the company is trying to fight back from what has been widely considered to be a PR disaster.

The boss of Thomas Cook has said he is "deeply sorry" over the deaths of two young children killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu and apologised for the company's handling of the incident.

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of the Peterborough-based travel firm which is facing a public backlash over the way it has treated the family since the tragedy, told the Financial Times: "Look, I'm deeply sorry about the deaths of these two children.

"As a father I really can only express my deepest sorrow."

He added: "It is also clear to me that in the past nine years the company
could have handled its relationship with the family better and treated them with more respect and for that I am sorry."

He pledged to apologise directly to the family of Bobby and Christi Shepherd, from Horbury, near Wakefield, who died at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel on the Greek holiday island in 2006 when they were overcome by fumes from a faulty boiler.

The children, from Horbury near Wakefield, died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a holiday apartment on Corfu in 2006.

Thomas Cook said yesterday they would donate £1.5 million they received from the hotel owners to the children's charity UNICEF.

But John McEwan, a former managing director at Thomas Cook says the children's parents should have been consulted about the donation and the company have been too concerned with protecting their legal interests.